At 8:42 a.m. I got the phone call from one of the NHLâ€™s chief negotiators.

â€œItâ€™s settled,â€ he said. â€œWe worked all Tuesday night and finished it Wednesday morning.â€

While there remains, as he put it, â€œa day or day-and-a-half of paperingâ€ still to be completed, the basic, new Collective Bargaining Agreement has been written.

â€œThe players side still has to get a look before itâ€™s officially announced but the deal is done,â€ one of the chief bargaining officials for the league added.

The fact that a document of more than 600 pages has been written does not yet guarantee the 2005-2006 season only because the NHL Playersâ€™ Association now must ratify the pact â€“ and thereâ€™s no firm assurance that theyâ€™ll give it the green light.

Nevertheless, a number of marquee players such as Jarome Iginla already have indicated their support and it is expected that the vote will be in favor although not necessarily by a landslide.

TORONTO/NEW YORK (July 13, 2005): The National Hockey League and the National Hockey League Players' Association have reached an agreement in principle on the terms of a new Collective Bargaining Agreement. Details of the new Agreement will not be made available publicly pending the formal ratification process by NHLPA Members and the NHL Board of Governors. It is anticipated that the ratification process will be completed next week, at which time the parties will be prepared to discuss the details of the Agreement and plans for next season. No further comment will be made until then.